RIO DE JANEIRO: CARIOCA TOURIST SCENARIO IN PANDEMIC TIMES

Abstract

This article analyzes the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on tourist flows and the on carioca tourism economy and seeks to understand its meanings for society, considering the complex mechanism that characterizes the phenomenon of tourism. The spatial cutout delimits the Rio de Janeiro municipality, for which tourism has its importance revealed not only by its highest classification on the Brazilian Tourism Map, but also for bringing together important products and flows on a national and international scale, in order to sample the climate of tensions and uncertainties that the pandemic panorama has provided in Brazilian tourism. The qualitative analysis is complemented by quantitative data, documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews, cutting out the years 2019 and 2020. The findings have pointed out several conflicts in the conduction of the health crisis, with serious impacts on tourism. The discussion is divided into two parts: (i) the background of Rio de Janeiro municipality and its territorial turistic trajectory and economic in the last three decades until contemporary, when we experience a pandemic with an intense impact on tourism and; (ii) the analysis of the impacts of the health crisis on tourism in Rio. It should be noted that Rio de Janeiro, as a tourist destination, suffered impacts due to the closing of companies, cancellation of events and interruption of flows due to the restriction instituted by decrees. In the municipal sphere, the State acted to mitigate the impacts, while the companies innovated on services and operations, which can point out about the new configuration of the touristic destination.